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Introduction to Dutch Pronunciation and Spelling

(de) uitspraak click to hear pronunciation
(de) klank click to hear sound
horen click to hear 2 to hear ‑>>
(de) spelling click to hear 2 spelling
schijven click to hear 2 3 to write ‑>>

Dutch spelling is fairly phonetic. In general, there is just one way of writing a sound, and each letter and letter combination is usually pronounced in the same way. Once you know the pronunciation of the letters and the spelling rules for 'long' and 'short' vowels, you can almost always easily see from written Dutch how to say it, and on hearing Dutch you will know how it's written.
There are (of course!) exceptions, but not that many, and most are not very important. Speaking Dutch following only the general rules - pronoucing every letter in the standard way - would not be really bad Dutch. The only things that early on need explanation is the 'voiceless E' and the spelling of long and short vowels.
Zoals je 't zegt? click to hear 2 3 Like you say it? (Asking if a name or a word is written phonetically, according to the spelling rules)

The 'One-Page Dutch Summary' has a short introduction as a refresher or to quickly give you an idea what Dutch Pronunciation is about.
Pronunciation of the Letters - Quick Reference Page

This page is for learning the sounds and spelling of Dutch - if you like, follow the links for more examples and more detailed explanations

Table of Contents
 The Vowels (a e i o u) and the Spelling Rules 
  'Voiceless, Unstressed E' click to hear (the 'schwa') 
 The Diphthongs: au/ou ei/ij eu oe ui 
 Dutch Sounds not Found in English 

 CH / G 
 EI / IJ 
 EU 
 U / UU ('long U') 
 UI 
 Dutch Sounds Represented by Other Letters in English 

 J 
 NG 
 R 
 W 
(English spelling is too irregular
for a good comparison of vowels)
 Vowels and Diphthongs Compared 
 Another Approach: 'Recognizable' Words; 
 Exceptions and Irregularities 
 More, If You Like 

The Dutch consonants (medeklinkers click to hear) b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x z are generally not much different from the English consonants - the few diverging cases will be explained below and more

1. The Vowels and the Spelling/Pronunciation Rules

(de) klinker click to hear vowel - klinkers click to hear vowels

a click to hear (short A)
aa/a click to hear (long A)
e click to hear (short E)
ee/e click to hear (long E)
e - "uh" click to hear ('voiceless, unstressed E,' 'schwa')
i click to hear (short I)
ie/i click to hear (long I (IE))
o click to hear (short O)
oo/o click to hear (long O)
u click to hear (short U)
uu/u click to hear (long U)

Introduction to the Dutch Vowels with links to many examples
- 'Consonant i'
- more about uu/u 'long U' below

Double vowels are always long, but single vowels can be either long or short - the spelling can tell you:

man click to hear
'short a'
(man,male)
maan click to hear
'long a'
(moon)
Ma click to hear
'long a'
(Mom)
mannen click to hear
'short a'
(men)
manen click to hear
'long a'
(moons)

vlot click to hear 2 3
'short o'
(raft)
vloot click to hear 2
'long o'
(fleet)
vlo click to hear 2
'long o'
(flea)
vlotten click to hear 2 3
'short o'
(rafts)
vloten click to hear 2
'long o'
(fleets)

The E of the -EN endings is a 'voiceless, unstressed E' click to hear (the 'schwa')
(Verb infinitives almost all end in ‑EN, and also many plurals end in ‑EN)

Short explanation - Longer explanation
other versions: 1 - 2
Find the Spelling/Pronunciation Rules Yourself by studying and listening to many examples

2. 'Voiceless, Unstressed E' click to hear (the 'schwa')

You can't tell if an E is 'voiceless, unstressed' from the spelling, like with single or double vowels and consonants as explained above, but there are a few simple rules for voiceless E, although they do not cover every possibility.

more: the 'E' page
other views: 1 - 2

The Diphthongs

(de) tweeklank click to hear diphthong - tweeklanken click to hear diphthongs

AU = OU click to hear
blauw click to hear ('blue') - au! click to hear ('ouch!') - dauw click to hear ('dew')
- touw click to hear ('rope, string') - goud click to hear ('gold') - louter click to hear ('pure')
more examples AU - OU - the AU / OU page

EI = IJ click to hear
- (de) bereidheid click to hear 2 ('readiness, willingness') - ijstijd click to hear 2 ('ice age')
- see and hear examples below

EU click to hear
- (de) speurneus click to hear 2 3 ('[~search-nose] sleuth, investigating person') - (de) neusbreuk click to hear 2 3 ('nose crack,' 'broken nose' - a made-up word - Dutchmen can do that )
- see and hear examples below

OE click to hear
boek click to hear ('book') - voet click to hear 2 ('foot') - broer click to hear ('brother')
more examples - the OE page

UI click to hear
- (de) huilbui click to hear ('crying fit') - (het) huisvuil click to hear 2 ('household garbage')
- see and hear examples below

Introduction to Diphthongs
with links to many examples

Diphthongs don't have 'short' and 'long' forms, and no resulting spelling changes

Dutch Sounds not Found in English

There are a few sounds in Dutch that are not found in English. If you didn't hear these sounds when growing up, it may be difficult to pronounce them correctly ("reproduce them yourself") - or even to recognize these sounds for what they are. - Hearing Psychology

CH / G click to hear "A sound like you clear your throat." There is no sound like it in English, but it is like J in European Spanish, and a similar sound is found in Hebrew and Arabic.
- cholera click to hear ('cholera') - chroom click to hear ('chrome') - lach click to hear ('a laugh') - toch click to hear 2 ('yet, still') - dicht click to
    hear ('closed') - lucht click to hear ('air') - rechts click to hear ('right (not left)')
Dutch CH and G do not sound exactly the same, but the difference is very small and foreign students shouldn't worry about it ‑>>
lachen click to hear 2 ('to laugh') / vlaggen click to hear 2 ('flags')
ga! click to hear ('go!') - gas click to hear ('a gas') - ge click to hear (Flemish 'you') - eg click to hear ('agriculture tool') - geel click to hear 2 3 ('yellow') - god click to hear ('god') - glad click to hear ('smooth, slippery') - grijs click to hear 2 ('grey') - boog click to hear ('bow, arch') - dag click to hear 2 ('day; goodbye') - weg click to hear ('way, road') - brug click to hear ('bridge')
more CH examples - the CH page
more G examples - the G page
G and CH are pronounced differently in the South of The Netherlands and Belgium, de 'Zachte G' - more - 2
Zachte G click to hear 2 3 - Zachte G click to hear 2 3 'soft' (Southern) G
geen groter genoegen click to hear
geen groter genoegen click to hear no greater pleasure

EI / IJ
There is no sound like Dutch EI/IJ click to hear 2 in English, but it's said that the sound is "somewhere between English FATE and FIGHT" - hear Dutch feit click to hear ('fact') - or "between MATE and MIGHT" - hear Dutch: mijt click to hear ('parasitic bug') / meid click to hear 2 ('girl' - slang)
A sound like Dutch EI/IJ is found in French, in a word like soleil click to hear 2 ('sun') and in the name of the Mediterranean city of Marseille click to hear

mees
titmouse
(a bird)
- meis
"girl"
(slang)
- maïs
maize,
corn
click to hear 2
Trees
(girl's
name)
- Thijs
(boy's
name)
- Thais
Thai
click to hear 2
mei
May
- maai
(I) mow
- mij
me
click to hear
hei
heath,
moor
- haai
shark
- hij
he
click to hear
more examples - 2 - the EI / IJ page

EU
There is no sound like Dutch EU click to hear in English, but German has a sound like it in some words with Ö or OE like the logician Gödel click to
hear - schön click to hear 2 3 'beautiful' or the author Goethe click to hear
French has a sound like Dutch EU in a word like deux click to
hear 'two'
- beuk click to hear ('beech (a tree)') - (de) keuken click to hear 2 ('kitchen') - (de) keuze click to hear ('choice') - neus click to hear ('nose') - (de) euro click to hear 2 ('euro') - (de) heuvel click to hear ('hill')
more examples - the EU page

UU / U ('long' U)
There is no sound in English similar to Dutch 'long U' click to
 hear - but is is found in French, like in cru or dur click to hear and in German, like in Hügel and Muesli click to hear
U click to hear ('you' - formal) - uur click to hear ('hour') - muziek click to hear 2 ('music') ('tuba') - tube click to hear 2 ('tube,' type of container, for instance for toothpaste)
more examples - the U/UU page

UI
There is no sound like Dutch UI click to hear 2 in English, but French has it in a word like l'oeil click to hear ('the eye') - hear Dutch: lui click to hear ('lazy')
- buik click to hear ('belly') - duim click to hear 2 ('thumb') - huis click to hear 2 ('house') - vuil click to hear ('dirt, dirty stuff; dirty')
more examples - the UI page

Dutch Sounds Represented by Other Letters in English

English spelling is too irregular for a good comparison of vowels.

Dutch J - English 'Consonant Y'
Dutch J is like English 'Consonant Y' (except in IJ of course)
- ja click to hear 5 ('yes') - jakkes! click to hear ('yikes, yuck!) - jij click to hear ('you') - je click to hear 2 ('you') - jou click to hear 2 ('you') - jullie click to hear ('you') - more about Dutch 'you:' personal pronouns - joker click to hear ('joker' - cards)
more examples

NG
like NG in SINGER ('vocalist') or HANGER, never like in LINGER or DANGER
- ringvinger click to hear ('ring finger') - (de) zangeres click to hear 2 ('lady singer') - engerd click to hear ('a creep') - lang click to hear 2 3 4 / lange click to hear long, tall - jongen click to hear ('boy')
more examples

R
Dutch R is quite different from English R:
- er click to hear ('~there') ->> - raam click to hear 2 ('window') - rand click to hear ('edge') - rijst click to hear ('rice') - rug click to hear ('back' - body part) - borst click to hear
At the beginning of a word, English R starts with the tongue touching the top of the palate, and then moving down; it's a 'rolling' sound formed in the middle of the mouth.
Dutch R keeps the tongue flat, its tip touching the lower teeth, and it's formed in the back of the mouth.
Compare English and Dutch R:

English road
click to hear
room
click to hear
ram
click to hear
Dutch rood
click to hear
roem
click to hear
rem
click to hear
meaning red fame a brake
more examples

W
- wij willen water click to hear ('we want water')
Keep lips relaxed, not rounded like in English W; Dutch W starts with the top of the lower lip touching the front upper teeth, but not clearly blowing out air like for a V or F. The sound is formed in the back of the mouth, and not in the front like English W.
waar click to hear ('where; true') ->> - was click to hear ('laundry; wax; (I/you/he) was') - week click to hear 2 ('week') - wet click to hear ('law') - winst click to hear ('profit') - woord click to hear ('word')
more examples - the W page

Vowels and Diphthongs Compared

Compare the sounds of the vowels and diphthongs: hear them all side-by-side, next to each other
Vowels and Diphthongs Compared

A few examples:
aanval click to hear 2 - spraakzaam click to hear 2 3
- aanrecht click to hear - waarheen? click to hear 2 - tafel click to hear 2 3
- maanlicht click to hear 2 3 - balie click to hear 2
- aankomst click to hear 2 - draadloos click to hear 2
- datum click to hear 2 - zwaluw click to hear
- bladgoud click to hear 2 - dankzij click to hear 2
- acteur click to hear 2 - stapvoets click to hear 2 3
- pakhuis click to hear

more extreme examples:
tijdsduur click to hear 2 - ruwheid click to hear
- steunmuur click to hear - schuurdeur click to hear
- kruisvuur click to hear 2 - stuurlui click to hear 2 3
- Kijk uit! click to hear 2 3 4 - buikpijn click to hear 2
- scheurbuik click to hear 2 3 - huisdeur click to hear 2
- kleurrijk click to hear - wijsneus click to hear 2
- vrijheid click to hear 2 - bruidssuiker click to hear

more examples, systematic list:
Vowels and Diphthongs Compared
Flashcards Listening Exercise - 2

Another Approach: 'Recognizable' Words

By listening closely to Dutch and English words that are identical or similar, words that look 'recognizable,' you'll quickly come to understand the differences between Dutch and English pronunciation and spelling.
a few examples:
Dutch and English Words of about the Same Meaning
park click to hear
adder click to hear
half click to hear
accent click to hear 2 3
fase click to hear
water click to hear 2
drama click to hear 2
bed click to hear 2
lens click to hear
test click to hear 2 3
echo click to hear 2 3
ego click to hear 2 3
decibel click to hear
lip click to hear
blind click to hear 2
film click to hear 2
bitter click to hear
liter click to hear 2
crisis click to hear 2 3
alibi click to hear 2
dogma click to hear 2
god click to hear
concert click to hear
wolf click to hear
open click to hear
opera click to hear
horizon click to hear 2
moment click to hear
radio click to hear 2
hut click to hear
rubber click to hear 2 3
bus click to hear tunnel click to hear 2

duel click to hear 2
tuba click to hear
uniform click to hear

warm click to hear / worm click to hear

Identical or very similar Dutch and English Words
Easy Dutch 1: Background and Pronunciation Some background on the shared roots and changes between English and Dutch and 'Reognizable' Words, 'Easy Vocabulary'
Easy Dutch 2: Recognizable Words by Subject
Colors - Days, Months, Seasons - Numbers - Time - The Human Body - Family and Relatives - On the Farm - More Animals - Music - Trees
Easy Dutch 3: 'Reognizable' Verbs

'False Friends' (Faux Amis) Identical Words of different Meaning

Meaning Dutch English Dutch word, alternates
afraid, scared bang click to hear bang knal click to hear loud noise
leg been click to hear 2 3 been past participle of 'to be'
ik ben geweest click to hear I have been
1. through
2. by
door click to hear door deur click to hear 2 entry to room or house
elsewhere,
in another place
elders click to hear elders wijze oude mannen click to hear 2
wise old men ('village elders')
a fairy fee click to hear fee kosten click to hear a charge, money that needs to be paid
corridor, hallway gang click to hear gang bende click to hear bunch of bad guys
1. slippery
2. smooth
glad click to hear glad blij click to hear happy, joyful
him hem click to hear hem zoom click to hear 2 3 finished edge of fabric
chin kin click to hear 2 kin familie click to hear ~relatives ‑>>
alphabet character letter click to hear 2 letter letter click to hear 2 letter, character
brief click to hear mail message
file, folder, holder for papers map click to hear map kaart click to hear 2 geographical
representation, drawing of an area
joke
also: mopje click to hear
mop click to hear 2 mop dweil click to hear 2
zwabber click to hear raghead on a stick
strange, weird, odd
raar / rare click to hear 2
rare click to hear rare ongebruikelijk click to hear 2 / zeldzaam click to hear 2 uncommon, unusual
kort gebakken click to hear 2 'sautéed shortly,' underdone meat
back (body part) rug click to hear rug kleed click to hear carpet, tapestry
tapijt click to hear 2 carpet, tapestry
a time of quiet, low activity rust click to hear 2 rust roest click to
      hear iron oxidation
- rust roest click to
	        hear low activity
leads to stagnation
~75 'Basic' False Friends  -  ~300 False Friends  -  'Medium' Version

Exceptions and Irregularities

Source pages for this chapter:  1 - 2 - 3

EEN / 'N
The Dutch indefinite article ('a') een click to hear is pronounced with voiceless, unstressed E click to hear ('the 'schwa') and not the 'long E' click to hear you'd expect from the spelling. It can also be written as " 'n. "
'One' is één click to hear 2 3 - the number 1 and 'one' meaning 'quantity: one,' usually written with accents
Iemand zal een oplosing moeten vinden click to hear Someone will have to find a solution Er is maar één oplossing click to hear 2 There's only one solution

HET / 'T
The Dutch definite article #2 het click to hear 2 ('the') is often pronounced as 't click to
   hear and can phonetically more correctly be written as " 't. " ‑>>

het is click to hear it's, it is
't is click to hear 2 3 it's, it is
Het Delft van Vermeer click to hear
't Delft van Vermeer click to hear The Delft of Vermeer, Vermeer's Delft

The -IG Ending
The -IG ending click to hear is pronounced with voiceless, unstressed E click to hear ('the 'schwa') and not the 'short I' click to hear you'd expect from the spelling.
Almost all words of more than one syllable with an -IG ending are adjectives or adverbs, or words derived from adjectives and adverbs

A few examples:
luchtig click to hear ('airy, light // not serious')
schichtig click to hear 2 3 ('skittish, nervous, shy')
voorzichtig click to hear 2 ('careful, with caution') ‑>> voorzichtig! click to hear 2 ('be careful!') twintig click to hear (' 20 ') numbers
gezellig click to hear 2 3 (untranslatable: '~pleasant, ~nice, ~enjoyable, ~gregarious, ~cosy') ->>
more examples

The -ISCH Ending
The -ISCH ending click to hear is pronounced with Dutch 'long I' (IE) click to hear (English EE) and not the 'short I' click to hear you'd expect from the spelling, and the CH is dropped.

a few examples:
kritisch click to hear 2 ('critical')
chemisch click to hear / chemische click to hear ('chemical')
tragisch click to hear 2 / tragische click to hear ('tragical')
mechanisch click to hear 2 ('mechanical')
psychisch click to hear 2 3 4 ('psychological, mental')
Indisch click to hear ('from the Dutch Indies' // 'from India')
allergisch click to hear ('allergic')
more examples

The -LIJK Ending
The -LIJK ending click to hear 2 is pronounced with voiceless, unstressed E click to hear ('the 'schwa') and not the EI/IJ click to hear you'd expect from the spelling.

a few examples:
lelijk click to hear 2 / lelijke click to hear 2 3 ('ugly')
rijkelijk click to hear ([richly] 'abundantly')
vrijelijk click to hear ('freely, liberally')
verrukkelijk click to
     hear ('delicious')
ijselijk click to hear ([icely] 'dreadful, frightening')
gevaarlijk click to hear 2 3 ('dangerous')
more examples

Unexpectedly 'Short' A
Contrary to the spelling/pronunciation rules that say a single vowel is 'long' when followed by one consonant and one or more vowels, many A's in that position are 'short.' Going through my recordings it looks like a significant number. The stress in these words in never on that first syllable
a few examples:
- apart click to hear 2 3 ('apart, separate' // 'peculiar') - bananen click to hear ('bananas') - (het) katoen click to hear ('cotton') - (de) azijn click to hear ('vinegar') - (het) lawaai click to hear 2 ('noise') - Amerikanen click to hear 2 3 ('Americans') - Japan click to hear ('Japan')
many more examples

End-of-word B
End-of-word B is pronounced as P, but when an E-ending is added to the word, B's are pronounced as B
Compare:
(het) lab click to hear ('lab, laboratory') / (de) lap click to hear ('a piece of cloth or land')
(de) eb click to hear 2 ('ebbtide') / (de) mep click to hear ('slap, whack, blow')

a few examples:
ik heb click to hear ('I have') / wij hebben click to hear 2 ('we have')
(de) slab click to hear 2 ('bib') / (het) slabbetje click to hear 2 ('small bib')
(de) krab click to hear 2 3 ('crab') / krabben click to hear ('crabs' // 'to scratch')
more examples

CH in CHRI-
The CH in CHRI is pronounced as K. All Dutch words starting with CHRI derive from Christus click to hear ('Christ') - Jezus Christus click to hear 2
(de) christen click to hear christian, christian person - plural:  christenen click to hear Christien click to hear ('a girls' name') - Chris click to hear ('a boys' name')
more examples

End-of-word D
End-of-word D is pronounced as T, but when an E-ending is added to the word, D's are pronounced as D
Compare:
(het) bad click to hear ('bath') / (het) gat click to hear ('hole')
(het) bed click to hear 2 ('bed') / (de) pet click to hear ('cap')

a few examples:
(de) daad click to hear ('action,' "deed") / daden click to hear ('actions,' "deeds")
(het) paard click to hear 2 ('horse') / paarden click to hear 2 ('horses')
(het) goud click to hear ('gold') / gouden click to hear ('golden')
more examples

"Lopen" or "Lope"?
Many people in Holland (probably a majority of the population) don't pronounce the final N's in verb infinitives, verb plurals and noun plurals. Feel free to do that too, you will be perfectly understood either way. But I do not recommend it, dear students, because you have to write those N's anyway, so not pronouncing them just adds a spelling rule

De mensen praten plat. click to hear
De mense prate plat. click to hear People talk sloppily, substandard Dutch. We hebben lopen demonstreren. click to
    hear
We hebbe lope demonstrere. click to hear 2 3 We have been in a protest march. more

SCHR: "ShR"
The CH in SCHR is not pronounced - just an H 'aspiration,' breathing out, "an exhalation of breath" - listen to the examples.
- (het) schrammetje click to hear ('small scratch') - schragen click to hear 2 3 4 5 ('sawhorses, gantries' // 'to support, prop up') - schrikken click to hear 2 3 4 ('to be startled, frightened, scared, shocked') - (het) schroot click to hear ('scrap metal') - (de) schreeuw click to hear ('shout') - schrijven click to hear 2 3 ('to write') - (de) schroef click to hear ('screw')
Compare with: (de) visgraat click to hear 2 3 4 ('fish bone') - muisgrijs click to hear 2 3 ('mouse-grey') - (de) staatsgreep click to hear ('coup') - 't Is chronisch click to hear 2 ('It's chronical')
- (de) asregen click to hear 2 3 ('ash rain, rain of ash')
many more examples

-TIE Ending: 1. "-TIE" 2. "-TSIE" 3. "-SIE"
The -TIE ending can be pronounced in three different ways:

a few examples:
-TIE click to hear 2 3 after S:
- (de) kwestie click to hear ('(question) - matter') - (de) suggestie click to hear ('suggestion')
-TSIE click to hear 2 3 after vowels and N:
- (de) combinatie click to hear 2 ('combination') - complicaties click to hear 2 ('complications') - (de) inflatie click to hear 2 3 ('inflation') - (de) situatie click to hear 2 ('situation') - (de) politie click to hear 2 ('police') (de) advertentie click to hear ('ad, advertisement') - (de) concurrentie click to hear 2 3 ('competition')
-SIE click to hear 2 after C, P and R:
- (de) actie click to hear 2 ('action?') - (de) correctie click to hear 2 3 ('correction') - (de) corruptie click to hear ('corruption') - (de) portie click to hear 2 ('portion, share, serving')
more examples

single U in UW is 'Long'
The single U in UW is always 'long' click to hear
for instance: Uw click to hear ('your' - formal) - duw click to hear ('a push') - duwen click to hear ('to push') - ruw click to hear 2 / ruwe click to hear ('rough') - ruwweg click to hear ('roughly' - estimating)
Compare with: - (de) rug click to hear ('back' - body part) - (het) rund click to hear 2 ('beef cattle') - Ruud click to hear 2 (a boys' name)
more examples

WR: "VR"
W before R is pronounced as (Dutch) V
Compare:
- wrede click to hear ('cruel') / (de) vrede click to hear ('peace')
- (de) wraak click to hear ('revenge') / (de) vraag click to hear 2 ('question')
more examples

More examples on the Source Pages for this Chapter:
Major Exceptions to the Phonetic Spelling of Dutch - 2 - Minor Exceptions
Older versions: Lesson10 - smartphone - 2
Problems in Dutch Pronunciation and Spelling

Slow Dutch
 F  G  H  L  SCH  V  W  X  Y
Vowels before R
Vowels and Diphthongs Listening Tests
F-V-W - L - W - Regional G

Dutch First and Last Names
Dutch Place Names
Foreign Lands and Places
Names Overview

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Gij zult niet stelen click to hear 'Thou shalt not steal'